MANILA – The Palace has strongly refuted online rumors about the 2025 national budget, branding them as ‘fake news’ propagated by allies of a former president. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin criticized the misleading assertions that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had signed a budget with sections left blank, hinting at a ‘blank check’ strategy for future fund allocations.
Bersamin labeled the spread of such misinformation as malicious and potentially criminal, asserting that every page of the 2025 National Budget was meticulously reviewed before being signed into law by the president. The budget, which spans 4,057 pages over two volumes, was thoroughly examined by Congress and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) experts.
He highlighted the detailed line-by-line review process conducted by civil servants to ensure the accuracy of the General Appropriations Act (GAA). Despite not naming the former president, Bersamin’s statement was a direct response to claims made by former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab in a podcast on Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s YouTube channel. They alleged that 13 pages of the budget contained blank appropriations.
Bersamin stressed the impossibility of any budget section being left blank and encouraged the public to access the budget on the DBM website to verify the facts. He argued that the printed figures in the GAA clearly refute the accusations of intentional blanks left for later filling.
He urged the former president and his associates to act responsibly and cease spreading false information, emphasizing that the GAA should not include any blank items.